


Love is Kinda Crazy (with a spooky little girl like you)

by julietophelia



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Stalking, Toni Topaz Deserves Better, Unhealthy Relationships, not a choni fic but a fic primarily about choni
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22043719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julietophelia/pseuds/julietophelia
Summary: Cheryl and Toni are the perfect couple. Even the town being quarantined and turned into a crime lord's playground can't dampen their bliss. Until a mysterious stalker threatens Toni and the people she loves, forcing her to turn to a surprising ally.
Relationships: Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, Josie McCoy/Toni Topaz, Jughead Jones/Toni Topaz (Mentioned)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Love is Kinda Crazy (with a spooky little girl like you)

**Author's Note:**

> I posted a version of this as a wip before, but I never posted the ending and the draft on my hard drive was bugging me, so I finished editing it.

Cheryl was holding a sleepover tonight, to celebrate Toni moving in. At least, that was the official reason. Toni thought Cheryl was enjoying lording it over the other girls that they were together while Archie and Jughead were stuck outside the quarantine. 

"I know it's been so hard for you lately, dear Ronnie, Cousin Betty, with your boyfriends ditching you and running off together. I hope tonight can raise your spirits," she said at dinner, sweet as maple sap.

"Thank you, Cheryl," Veronica replied, cold as ice.

Toni met Josie's eyes over the table, and they shared a look of resignation.

"Alright!" Cheryl clapped her hands. "Meet back in my room in ten for parlor games."

When Cheryl had left the dining room, and Toni was on her way to follow, she overheard Betty whispering to Veronica. 

"Do you think she'd kick us out if were late?"

"Girl, I don't doubt it."

Cheryl lent her another dressing gown from her closet, deep purple with black roses. It was real silk, as buttery soft as Cheryl's skin.

The other girls filtered in, all of them in different robes from last time. How many fancy dressing gowns did a girl need?

Veronica vetoed every game Cheryl suggested, including one called ‘secrets and sins’ that Toni suspected Cheryl had made up. Finally, Veronica produced a bottle of tequila from her overnight bag.

"How about we act like kids from _this_ century? Never Have I Ever, anyone?"

"Fine," Cheryl huffed. "But I get to give the orders."

"That's not really how it works," Josie said hesitantly. Cheryl shot her a glare, and she fell silent.

"Never have I ever done anything illegal." Everyone drank except for Josie.

After a while, it became clear that Cheryl was targeting her "orders" towards Betty. The rest of them had taken a shot or two, but Betty was well past tipsy and into thoroughly drunk.

"Never have I ever kissed a beanie clad chimney sweep named Jughead Jones."

Betty took a shot, and Toni followed. Surprisingly, Veronica drank as well, looking embarrassed. Cheryl did a double take.

"I had no idea our boy king was such a lothario. You're very tolerant, dear cousin. One might say a total doormat."

Betty glared back at her. Toni hoped that Jughead had already told her about them.

"Cheryl," Veronica warned.

"Right, back to the game. Never have I ever destroyed my hairline wearing the same hairstyle every day of my life since the third grade." 

"Hey, I think we've had enough for tonight," Toni said, trying to calm Cheryl down.

"Yes, more than enough." Cheryl stood up. "Alright, shoo, everyone. Thistlehouse has dozens of rooms, take your pick."

The other girls gathered their stuff and left, Betty leaning on Veronica.

Toni pulled her thin, useless robe tighter around herself. Thistlehouse was always drafty. The small antique lamps dotted around Cheryl's room left corners of shadow between pools of warm yellow light.

"What was all that about?" she asked Cheryl when the other girls were gone.

Cheryl spun around, arms crossed over her chest. "You and Jughead kissed?"

Oh. Of course.

"It was just one night."

"You spent the _night_ together?" Her expression was pure horror.

"He'd just gone through the gauntlet, and Betty had broken up with him. I needed a place to crash anyway. He needed someone to make sure he didn't die from a concussion. Things happened, but it's totally in the past now."

"Then why did you never tell me?"

"It was before we even met. I didn't think it was a big deal."

Cheryl's eyes filled with tears. Evidently it was a much bigger deal to her. Shit. Guilt twisted up Toni's stomach.

"Would you rather be with him?" Cheryl whispered.

"No, of course not." She tried to hold Cheryl's hand, but she pulled away.

"Yes, you would. Who could blame you? If he wasn't in love with Betty, you'd be together, and you wouldn't have to settle for a monster like me." The tears spilled over and down her lovely cheeks.

"That's not true, Cheryl. Don't talk about yourself like that. You're not a monster."

"When my mother sent Heather away, she told me that Heather would have just left me for a boy, anyway. She said girls like us are fickle."

"Oh Cheryl."

Cheryl stepped close again and took both her hands. "Promise me you won't leave me like everyone else."

"Never." She pulled Cheryl into a hug and rubbed her back until her sobs receded.

…

She reached for her phone to shut off the alarm, but her hand only landed on more pillows. Everything about Thistlehouse was too big. Halls stretched on forever, lined with doors to dusty rooms. She blinked herself awake, wading through an ocean of blankets to find the nightstand.

When she shut off her alarm, a persistent buzzing noise lingered in the room. She got out of bed to search for the source of the irritation.

She crossed the room and opened the heavy velvet drapes to let in the morning sun. Gardens of rose bushes stretched out below Cheryl's window, their bare branches coated in a glistening layer of ice. She could just barely see the glass walls of the conservatory at the far corner of the house. 

When she was moving in, Cheryl had explained that Thistlehouse was only the Blossom's summer cottage, and all that was left after she burned down Thornhill. Toni hadn’t known what to say. She had never been to Thornhill before it burned, or even seen it up close, but it must have been impressive. She wondered sometimes what went through Cheryl's mind when she walked through the Serpents' tent city.

She followed the buzzing to her duffel bag haphazardly shoved in a corner of their closet. Her burner phone, for Serpent business, was alerting her to a text. She opened it quickly, expecting a message from Sweet Pea, or maybe news from Jughead.

 _Watching u,_ the message read. She didn't recognize the number. Jughead? He'd probably needed a new phone. Did he mean he was nearby? Had he found a way through the quarantine? She felt bad about it, but after last night she wasn't exactly looking forward to his return.

 _Creepy phrasing,_ she texted back.

She shoved the phone in her pocket. Just as she was about to head downstairs for breakfast, Cheryl opened the door.

“Tee-tee, I thought you must still be asleep. I was going to surprise you.” There was a tea trolley beside her in the hallway. Cheryl lifted a silver tray with a steaming cup of tea. “I didn’t know if you took milk or lemon, so I brought both.”

“I don’t drink tea.”

Cheryl’s face fell. “Of course. I should have known. I’ll go right downstairs and brew you the best cup of High Point you’ve ever had.”

“No, Cheryl, it’s okay.” She grabbed the teacup and blew on it before taking a scalding sip.

…

With the town quarantined and no school, they were all left with heaps of free time and much less to do with it. Luckily for Veronica, this had turned out to be good news for La Bonne Nuit. Now that business was booming, or at least existent, Veronica had asked Toni to be their second bartender.

On her way to work that afternoon, her burner phone buzzed again, with a text from that same mysterious number.

_Sry. Ur hair looks nice 2day._

Okay, that was definitely not Jughead. If Sweet Pea and Fangs were trying some stupid prank, she was going to kill them.

…

It was a good night for the speakeasy, far from empty but not so packed that she couldn't handle the bar herself. Reggie seemed to be using his new time off to sidle up to the boss. Maybe she didn’t have to feel sorry for Veronica after all.

Sweet Pea and Fangs stopped by the bar, almost unrecognizable thanks to the dress code.

"Looking sharp, boys."

Fangs grinned. "Same to you."

"What're you having?"

"Virgin rum and coke," he said dryly. Toni laughed and got him the soda.

"How is it up in Hill House?"

"Wonderful, thank you. Me and the ghost of old genocidal great-great-great-grandpappy Barnabas have become such good friends."

He nudged Sweet Pea with his elbow. "Oh no, she's gone mad already."

She rolled her eyes, but it reminded her of the texts from earlier. She grabbed her burner phone.

"Hey, either of you idiots responsible for this?" she asked, flipping open the phone and holding it out to them.

"What? No way," Sweet Pea answered.

"That's creepy," Fangs added.

"I thought maybe it was a prank or something."

"I can't believe you'd think that of us, Topaz. This is well beneath our pranking standards."

"Okay, I believe you." She clicked the phone shut and shoved it back in her pocket.

"Do you ever think we got ripped off, letting the Lodge girl trade away the Wyrm for this place?" Sweet Pea asked, scowling at their opulent surroundings.

"Hey, this place is nice, and we're always welcome here."

"Too damn nice, that's the problem."

"I don't feel all that welcome with Mantle hanging around," Fangs muttered under his breath.

"Well as long as I've got a job, I've got no complaints."

"We're going to be sleeping in tents forever if we sit back and wait for northsiders to have our best interests in mind, that's all I'm saying."

"Mm hmm. How are things with Josephine?"

Sweet Pea avoided her eyes. Fangs gave him a sympathetic look.

"That's ancient history," he said neutrally.

"Her choice, not yours?"

"We both knew going in it was just a summer fling."

She reached up to pat his shoulder. "I get it. She's gorgeous. Anyone would fall for her."

Sweet Pea's glare demanded an end to the conversation. Lucky for him, the music stopped and the stage lights came up. She turned to see Kevin at the mic, introducing the main event for the evening.

Josie stepped out from the curtains, looking like a sun goddess in her sequined yellow gown. She began to sing a slow, dreamy tune. Toni was captivated.

Cheryl emerged from the crowd to urge her to dance. She slipped away from the bar to join her, and the two of them swayed softly to the music.

"Isn't my bestie the greatest?" Cheryl gushed. Toni nodded.

By the time they went home, Toni had forgotten all about the weird texts.

…

She got four more messages the next day. There was enough information in them to prove that whoever was sending them knew where she lived, where she was going, who she was with. She tried to brush it off, but it was starting to make her paranoid.

She was at work, restocking the bar, when she found an unlabeled box that was suspiciously light.

"Vee, I think there's been a mistake with your supplier," she called out.

She sliced open the box and jumped back when she saw the contents. Veronica and Reggie rushed over. Inside, wrapped in plastic, was a beautiful young water snake, slit down the belly from head to tail.

"Oh my god," Veronica gasped.

"Looks like someone's sending us a message," Reggie said.

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure it's for me."

"More trouble from the Ghoulies?"

"Maybe." She knew better, but she wasn't about to confide in Reggie Mantle.

"I'll call Cheryl," Veronica said.

"No, don't. She'll freak out like I had another seizure."

"You sure?"

"I'm good, Veronica. A dead animal's not enough to rattle me."

"Alright, but l think you should take tonight off."

"If you insist."

"I do insist." Veronica touched her arm. "Whatever this is, we've got your back."

"Thank you, Vee."

While she was climbing the stairs back to the diner, her burner phone buzzed in her pocket. She stayed back in the phone booth that held the speakeasy's secret entrance, looking to make sure no one was around before she checked it. There was a voicemail message. Holding her breath, she played the message and held the phone to her ear. It was a deep, modulated voice, like she'd heard the Black Hood used.

"It makes me sick, watching you turn your back on your people, consorting with a Blossom. You're mine, and it's time you knew it. Don't spend another night in that house, or I'll pluck out your girlfriend's pretty red hair and strangle her with it."

She dropped the phone like it had burned her. With shaking hands, she retrieved it from the tile floor and found it undamaged. She wished it had shattered into a million tiny pieces.

She argued with herself the whole walk home. She couldn't let some anonymous prank caller boss her around. She was in a gang, for God's sake. But if Cheryl got hurt, and there was anything she could have done to prevent it, she would never forgive herself.

By the time she reached Thistlehouse's gate, her mind was made up. She didn't have a choice. She'd have to break her promise to Cheryl, no matter how much it would hurt her.

…

It didn't take long to pack up her things. Half of her things were still folded up in her duffel bag.

"Toni? What are you doing?"

Damn it. "Cheryl! Hey, um, we need to talk."

She sat down on the bed. Cheryl crossed the room hesitantly and sat beside her.

"I'm worried we've been moving too fast. We're still in high school, after all. So I was thinking maybe I should move out."

Cheryl tried not to show her hurt, but Toni saw her face drop. She hated this.

"And where will you live? Back to the Serpent shantytown?" Cheryl said, her voice even.

"I'll find a place. Don't worry about it."

"I'm not going to let you sleep in a tent."

"It's not up to you. It's already decided. I'm leaving."

"It is not decided!" Cheryl studied her face closely. "Tell me what's really wrong, Toni."

She sighed. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. I'm not letting you run away. Whatever's got you so scared, we'll face it together."

Damnit. How did Cheryl know her so well? There was no getting out of this.

"Okay, okay. I've been getting these messages. It started out as just weird little comments. Then they started getting creepier."

"Oh my god."

"They threatened to hurt you if I didn't leave."

"Oh, Toni." Cheryl stroked her cheek. "I won't be frightened off by some run of the mill stalker. I'll slay any dragon that tries to take you away from me."

"I just wish I knew who the dragon was."

"I bet it was a ploy to break us up by my hellbeast mother."

She shook her head. "They're all sent to my burner phone. That's the thing that's really freaking me out."

"So?" Cheryl scrunched up her nose in confusion.

"So, I've only had this one for a few weeks, and I've only given the number to a few people. I think—" She swallowed hard and voiced the thought she'd been hiding from. "Whoever's doing this must be a Serpent."

It was horrible to think that a Serpent, part of her family, could be threatening her. Worse, that they threatened Cheryl.

"Who else have you told about this?"

"Sweet Pea and Fangs the other day, when I got the first messages. Veronica and Reggie were there when I found the snake."

"Damnit." Cheryl rested her chin on her hand. "You can't tell anyone else, obviously, and make sure the dynamic duo haven't spilled the beans either. I'll handle Veronica and Reggie. We don’t want this creep to know we're on to him."

She rested her head on Cheryl's shoulder. Cheryl wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in tight. It was such a relief to tell her everything, to not be in this alone.

"You must have been so afraid. Don't worry, darling, we'll get to the bottom of this." Cheryl stood up. “I’ll make you a cup of tea.”

…

"You don't have to say anything, Cheryl already gave us the third degree," Veronica told her when she showed up for her shift at La Bonne Nuit. "Keep the circle small. Are you sure you want to come back to work?"

"I need to go on like normal. As normal as anything can be in this town."

She distracted herself with work, washing and re-washing glasses, polishing the dark wood of the bar until it gleamed.

A voice made her jump and nearly drop the glass in her hand. She took a deep breath and willed her heart to stop racing. It was just Josie.

"Are you okay? I haven't heard you say a word all afternoon."

"I’m fine. Just didn't get much sleep last night."

Josie held up her hands. "Okay, say no more."

The phone near the bar rang. It was Cheryl.

"I have bittersweet news, Tee-Tee. Meet me at tent city.”

“I can’t leave in the middle of a shift.”

“It’s urgent. The miscreant who's been harassing you has been caught."

“What? Who?”

“Sweet Pea and Fangs were in on it together." The words took a minute to register. It wasn't true. It couldn't be. "I don't know what gave you that idea, but there must be some mistake." "I'm afraid not, _ma chérie_. The cops have already carted them away and are searching their campsites for evidence.”

“You let Hiram Lodge’s gestapo raid tent city?”

“I won’t take any risks with your safety.”

“You should have talked to me first.” She was too furious not to say something she’d regret. She forced herself to take a deep breath. “I can’t talk right now, Cheryl. I’ll see you at home.”

She hung up the phone, then picked up her cloth and began scrubbing the already pristine bar more vigorously than before.

…

"Are you mad at me?" Cheryl asked at dinner.

"No, of course not."

"I only wanted to protect you."

"I know that. But don't you see, you were playing right into their hands."

"What do you mean?"

"Whoever it is wants me scared and isolated. He wanted to take Sweet Pea and Fangs away from me."

Cheryl placed a comforting hand over hers. "Oh Toni, I know this is hard to accept, but you have to consider—"

"It wasn't them," she said firmly. "I'm sure."

"The bloody switchblade Fangs used to gut that snake was still in his pocket when they arrested him."

"What, and he never cleaned it? They were framed, Cheryl, and he made a huge mistake going after my friends. I’m going to find out who did this, and he's going to pay."

…

She tapped her foot against the tile floor of the police station. In the chair next to her, Josie McCoy watched her in awkward silence, her hands clutched in her lap. She took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair.

"You know, we dated each other's best friends, but I think this is the first time we've ever been alone together."

Josie fiddled with the ring on her right hand. "I wouldn't say me and Sweet Pea dated."

"You know he's innocent, right?"

Josie met her eyes briefly. "I know," she said, then stared down at the floor.

Once, the sight of Sierra McCoy striding across the lobby of the Sheriff's station could only have meant that her bad day was going to get a lot worse. Now, Attorney McCoy was Fangs and Sweet Pea's best hope.

"When are they getting out?"

Mrs. McCoy paused. “There’s been some debate. With only an interim Sheriff, and Leopold and Loeb under investigation…”

"It's been 24 hours, and I told them I'm not pressing charges. Why aren't they being released?"

"That's not why they're being held. During the search, they claim to have found drugs in Mr. Fogarty's tent."

"Bullshit they did. Serpents don't touch that stuff. They must have planted it on him."

"Or," Josie said softly, "maybe your stalker did it."

"Regardless, there's nothing more we can do for them today."

Toni walked out of the station in a daze. Josie walked beside her.

"Toni, hey, how about a shake at Pop's?"

She nodded robotically, and they spent the rest of the walk there in silence.

…

Josie picked at her basket of cheese fries while Toni stirred her melting orange freeze.

Josie was wringing her hands, working up the nerve to say something. "I think I might have an idea who's really been bothering you."

Her head shot up. "What? How?" 

“Has Cheryl ever tried to make you stop being friends with someone?”

She remembered that day outside Cheryl's house, the drawings, the pig heart. "No, that's impossible."

"Because you could never fall for it like I did?"

"I didn't mean that. Look, what she did to you was wrong, but she's a different person now. She was still so messed up after what happened with Heather."

"Heather? Who's Heather?"

Oh. She hadn't told Josie about Heather. Of course she hadn't. Cheryl probably hadn't told anyone until her.

"Her best friend in junior high."

"I was Cheryl's best friend in junior high."

"She wouldn't have told you about her." 

"If Cheryl had another best friend, I would have known. What did Cheryl tell you?"

It wasn't her place to talk about it if Cheryl didn't want her to know. But doubt was pulling at her. She explained how Cheryl had opened up to her that night after the movie, how her mother had destroyed her first love.

"That doesn’t make any sense. I've known Cheryl my whole life, and the only Heathers she loves are Chandler, Duke, and McNamara. It's her favorite movie."

"Why would she lie?"

"I don't pretend to understand why Cheryl does what she does."

"But my stalker threatened Cheryl, they want to break us up."

"Which is exactly what you'd do if you had a history of this kind of thing," Josie said gently. 

Tears welled in her eyes. "I've been so stupid."

Josie took her hand. "No, you haven't."

"I should have known better. I did know better."

"It's not stupid to want to help someone."

"What am I going to do? Sweet Pea and Fangs are locked up because of me. I invited a predator right into our den."

"So bite back."

…

She needed a plan. She couldn't trust the police. Cheryl would be one step ahead of her if she asked for help. She needed to show Cheryl she'd messed with the wrong girl.

She rifled through Cheryl’s room, not even sure what she was looking for. She searched every inch of the bedroom and the closet before moving on to her bathroom. In the medicine cabinet she found a bottle of sleeping pills prescribed for ‘Rose Blossom’. A pit formed in the bottom of her stomach as she thought of the cups of tea Cheryl pushed into her hands every night.

She shook out a pill, slipped it into her pocket, and replaced the pill bottle.

…

She was a monster for doing this, she thought as she mixed the white powder into Cheryl's glass of eggnog. She didn’t have a choice. This is what Cheryl would do, to anyone who hurt her. She would have been cheering her on before. Why had she thought she was special?

She handed Cheryl the glass and sat in the other armchair by the fire. Cheryl chattered on, telling some story Toni wasn't paying attention to. All she could hear was the fire crackling and the blood rushing in her ears. After a few minutes Cheryl's speech slowed and she drifted off in her chair.

She ran upstairs to Cheryl’s bedroom and grabbed her packed duffel bag from where she’d stashed it earlier. She yanked the belts from a few dressing gowns out of their loops and draped them over her arm. 

On her way out, she paused to examine the jacket hanging on the vanity chair. The bright green clashed with red leather that was still shiny and stiff, barely broken in. She’d been so happy, the day Cheryl first shrugged it on. She grabbed it, too.

…

Cheryl blinked drowsily as she came to. "Tee-tee?"

She’d tied Cheryl’s wrists to her chair, not too tight, just enough to get the idea across. As if that made it okay.

"I know it was you. You sent the snake. You framed Sweet Pea and Fangs."

“Oh, that.” Cheryl sat up and lifted her chin. She'd expected denial. Cheryl looked almost excited to be found out. “What are you going to do about it?”

"I know what you'd do." There was a tall candlestick burning beside her on the end table. She tipped it over and caught it with her hand before it fell. Droplets of red wax splattered onto the hardwood. "I was good to you, and you hurt me. You hurt my friends. All because you couldn't handle that I've kissed other people?"

Cheryl rolled her eyes. "You really think I'm jealous of Jughead Jones? I forgave your momentary lapse of taste."

"So why?"

"I wanted you to see how much better life is when you cut out the people who don't deserve you. I finally cut my family loose, and I've never been happier." 

"My family isn't like yours."

"Aren't they? That band of petty criminals threw my brother in the river like garbage. We’re the only family we need."

"Cut the crap, Cheryl. You weren't trying to help me. You've been lying to me since the start. Why did you make up that story about Heather?"

Cheryl looked away. "Why else? I wanted you to think I was someone worth loving."

"I would have liked you anyway."

She scoffed. "No you wouldn't. No one does, unless I make them."

Her anger drained away. "You can't force someone to love you, Cheryl. You can’t fix people, either. You're sick, and I don't think I can help you."

“So what are you going to do?”

She crouched down to Cheryl's level, and took her switchblade out of her pocket. "You're going to tell the police that the drugs were yours, and get Sweet Pea and Fangs out of jail."

Cheryl looked incredulous. "I don't know what you're talking about. It’s not my fault if your friends are junkies."

"I don’t care," she said forcefully. "You'll get community service again, at most, and then we’ll stay out of each other’s way. Understood?"

Cheryl nodded. Toni flicked open her switchblade and sliced the ties binding Cheryl's wrists to her chair.

Cheryl frowned at the cut silk. "You didn't have to ruin them."

Toni bit back a laugh, turned, and walked out of Thistlehouse for good.

…

Snowflakes fell gently on the path before them. The snow was already sticking to the grass, forming fluffy piles. Toni zipped up her jacket over her sweater to keep out the wind. Josie looked warmer in her long leopard-print coat. Toni would have to get used to the cold again. They had more trailers now at tent city, and more heaters, but still not enough.

"I did think I was different,” she confessed. “I thought I'd seen something in her that no one else had even tried to see."

Josie touched her arm. "Toni, it wasn’t your fault."

"Why did you help me?"

Josie looked puzzled by the question. "No one should have to go through that alone."

“But I didn’t help you. I knew what she did and I chose her anyway. Don’t you hate me?”

"Hate you?" Josie touched her cheek with a gloved hand. Their wispy breath mingled together between them, then Josie leaned forward and kissed her, a soft brush of lips. "I couldn’t hate you if I wanted to.”


End file.
